Sara Duterte's threats vs Marcos, Romualdez 'serious, real, actual' – NBI witness

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte’s threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez have been characterized as “serious, real, and actual,” by a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official. NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, who formerly served as the agency’s Cybercrime Division chief, testified on Monday during his direct examination in Duterte’s impeachment trial as it tackles the vice president’s alleged grave threats and incitement to sedition. Duterte, in a November 23, 2024 online press conference, alleged hiring a hitman to take down the three if she herself would pass away. “To me, as the chief investigator at that time, the utterances made by the vice president was serious, and the threat was real and actual,” Lotoc said, citing the report he wrote when the NBI investigated the press conference. Lotoc then explained: “We considered the content of context of the utterances made by the vice president in November 23, 2024, as well as the utterances made by the vice president in October 18, 2024, and the reactions from the recipients as well as reactions from several government agencies.” Specifically, Lotoc said at least four factors were considered when the NBI determined Duterte’s threats as “real and actual.” The factors are the delivery of the statement, its literal meaning, the nature of instruction and the relationship between the parties. Through the examination of counsel of prosecution Amando Ligutan, Lotoc expounded the four factors. Asked how Lotoc described the manner in which Duterte delivered the supposed threats, the NBI executive said, throughout the press conference, the vice president was “furious and fuming mad when she delivered the utterances.” “We saw in the video when we ran it, I think more or less eight times she was very angry and cursing. She was cursing the president, the First Lady and the former speaker of the House,” Lotoc added. The prosecution then asked that clips of Duterte making angry comments during the press conference be played. In separate portions of the entire online conference, the vice president was observed saying the following: Loosely translated as: Lotoc also clarified that the delivery of the message is important to the investigation to establish intent, particularly “whether those utterances made by the vice president were just a product of a temporary fit of anger, a spur of the moment, or portraying the serious actual and real threat.” The prosecution continued its line of questioning, clarifying how the literal meaning of Duterte’s statements were assessed. Lotoc answered: “It is clear from the vice president’s utterances that even before the press conference held on November 23, 2024, the vice president had already contracted to kill the president, Liza Marcos and the former House Speaker.” Then, referring to Duterte’s supposed hiring of a hitman, Litugan asked how the NBI viewed the supposed “instructions” of the vice president. Lotoc, quoting the vice president’s words during the press conference, said Duterte was “determined to carry out” the alleged assassination plot. “In those utterances, the vice president said “Don’t stop until you kill them,” it shows persistence on the part of the vice president; that she was determined to carry out those utterances and from the point of view of the law enforcement like the NBI, it’s alarming for us,” he explained. “Other groups can take advantage of that, other individuals. God forbid something happens to the vice president, in one way or another, the instruction will be triggered now and then they will be killed, God forbid again, the president, Liza Marcos, the former speaker. In fact, even in that triggering phase, other groups can take advantage of that, thinking that if we assassinate the three, we will blame the vice president,” Lotoc further expounded. Lotoc also quoted the vice president, when he was asked how the NBI determined the relationship between Duterte, and the three she threatened to get killed. “In one of the vice president’s utterances, she characterizes her relationship with the president as toxic. At least three times she uttered the word toxic,” Lotoc stated. He specified that the events leading up to the November 23, 2024 conference was considered. In particular, Lotoc cited Duterte’s resignation as the Department of Education, and in an October 2024 press conference, the vice president did not only call her relationship with Marcos Jr. toxic, but she also admitted to imagining “cutting the head” of the president. Lotoc also said that the reaction from the president himself and other agencies affected the NBI’s assessment, saying: “We want to establish whether the recipient of those utterances felt intimidated or if they took it as serious and actual threat.” Following the press conference, Marcos Jr. called the situation “concerning.” According to Lotoc, during its fact-finding investigation on the matter, he and his team determined that the “president took the threat as serious and real.” Apart from the four factors, Lotoc highlighted that the effects of Duterte’s statements had an effect on the general public. “It appears that these statements have tendency to stir up the people against the government, have tendency to disturb the peace of the community, have tendency to undermine the public peace and order,” Lotoc told the court. /mr